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Investment Banking Associate

Associates hired into Baird Global Investment Banking are highly qualified individuals committed to pursuing a long-term career focused on providing financial advice to our corporate clients. You will play an integral role on our Investment Banking team, providing quantitative and analytical support for equity offerings, mergers, acquisitions, and other financial advisory services. Our program is designed to allow associates to work closely with senior bankers during all stages of the transaction so they develop both the execution and client skills required to be an effective senior banker.

Associates are hired into sector teams which have broad coverage responsibilities for an array of industry sub-sectors. A group head directs each sector team and provides leadership, supervision and performance reviews for all members of their professional staff. After a three- to four-year period, associates are expected to have core responsibility for executing transactions within a focus area.

Separately, associates may be hired directly into the Financial Sponsors Coverage Team or the Equity Capital Markets Team, where they will focus on either serving the middle-market private equity community or on developing expertise related to corporate financing alternatives in the equity markets.

The program begins with an intensive three-week training program in our Milwaukee office. It is designed to acquaint new associates with the basic analytical tools required to assist in the execution of transactions and add value to the client teams to which they are assigned. After training, associates are immediately assigned to client teams where they will begin working under the direction of senior bankers.

Associates are assigned to a variety of projects and are given a broad range of responsibilities, some of which include:

Managing and assisting in the preparation of financial models and business valuations

Creating client marketing presentations

Attending client meetings

Conducting industry and company-specific due diligence related to transactions

Drafting memoranda for sale assignments

Assisting in the preparation of fairness opinions

Attending drafting sessions for equity offerings

Creating marketing materials for our equity sales organization

Assisting in the development and continued cultivation of client relationships

Developing an understanding of the underlying trends that affect equity capital markets

Gaining an understanding of the interests and investment criteria of a number of middle-market private equity firms

Candidates for the program will possess the following qualifications:

A strong work ethic, detail orientation and a passion for excellence

Knowledge of general accounting and finance principles

The ability to excel in both team and self-directed settings

An MBA or JD from a top-tier school

A working knowledge of spreadsheet and word processing software programs

The Interview Process

First-round interviews consist of interviews with one to two bankers, generally 30 minutes each. The interviews occur either on campus or in one of our offices.

Second-round interviews consist of four to six interviews generally 20-30 minutes each. The interviews occur in our Chicago and Milwaukee offices.

Offers are made within a short period after the final round of interviews.

Things to Consider Before You Interview

You should be prepared to discuss the following during your interview:

What do you know about the investment banking industry?

Why are you interested in a career in this industry?

What do you know about Baird? Our culture?

What about our firm and culture appeals to you?

Be prepared to discuss your résumé.

Think about your strengths and weaknesses and be able to discuss both. How do your strengths apply to Investment Banking?

What are your three greatest accomplishments?

Describe a failure. What did you learn from it?

How would your peers describe you? What would they say you could improve about yourself?

How would a supervisor or manager at a previous job describe you?

What is your leadership style?

Why did you decide to attend graduate school during this time in your career?

What unique attributes do you bring to a team? Be able to cite some examples.